Honorable Robert Bunda

President of the Senate

Twenty-Second State Legislature

Regular Session of 2004

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 261, H.D. 1, entitled:

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to request the Legislative Reference Bureau (LRB) to review, analyze, and recommend changes to statutes, rules, and county ordinances that criminalize non-serious offenses.

Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Judiciary. Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu. Comments were submitted by the LRB.

Your Committee finds that the Legislature began decriminalizing certain non-serious traffic offenses to violations, eliminating most traffic arraignments, disposing of uncontested violations by mail, and providing informal hearings where violations or proposed penalties are questioned. Overall, the process was streamlined and the handling of traffic cases achieved a more expeditious system of judicial processing for traffic infractions.

Your Committee further finds that some offenses established by statutes other than the Hawaii Penal Code, including those established by rule or county ordinances, are:

Your Committee finds that this inconsistent treatment of non-serious criminal offenses and the decriminalization of traffic infractions cause confusion for the public, who sometimes are arrested for failing to appear for citations even when they admitted to the offense and paid a fine by mail. This measure recommends that the LRB should evaluate all of the statutes, rules, and county ordinances that criminalize non-serious offenses and recommend changes to the penalties that should be more consistent with the decriminalized traffic infractions.

However, your Committee noted comments from the LRB that each county should be urged to review, analyze, and change its own county ordinances and rules that criminalize non-serious offenses.

Based on the LRB's comments, your Committee amended this measure by:

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 261, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as H.C.R. No. 261, H.D. 1, S.D. 1.